Cost analysis resources

This collection of tools includes our own and external resources. For a recent review of international research on life cycle analyses of LID stormwater practices see Xu et al. (2019)

STEP LID Life Cycle Costing Tool (Ontario)

STEP LID Life Cycle Costing Tool includes Bioretention, Enhanced grass swales, Green roofs, Infiltration chambers, Infiltration trenches, Permeable pavements, and Rainwater harvesting

The Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program has produced a life cycle costing tool specific to Ontario. STEP built the tool after evaluating LID practices and design scenarios for input costs, maintenance requirements, rehabilitation costs and practice designs relevant to Canadian climates. The tool is in a simple to use Excel format and is free to download. STEP LID Life Cycle Costing Tool

Green Infrastructure Optimization Tool (Great Lakes)

The Greater Lakes Green Infrastructure Optimization Tool gives a preliminary assessment of green infrastructure options. Land-cover types (and technologies) include: Existing and proposed buildings, existing and proposed paved parking areas, walkways and roadways, open space, pasture, meadow, brush, woodland/grassland, woods and bare soil.

GI tool from the Great Lakes Commission

Green Values Stormwater Toolbox (Great lakes, USA)

A free tool for evaluating the costs and benefits of green infrastructure. It is based on the hydrology of the Great Lakes region, and produced by the Center for Neighborhood Technologies, a non-profit organisation in the USA.

CNT's Toolbox webpage

CNT's Green Values calculator tool

United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)

The US EPA's National Stormwater Calculator provides a regionalized, planning-level cost estimation tool for LID stormwater practices in the United States that has been recently updated. For an article describing the updated tool see Bernagros et al. (2021) .

US EPA National Stormwater Calculator tool

A collection of other cost-benefit analysis resources from the Green Infrastructure team at the US EPA can be found at the following link.

Cost benefit resources from US EPA

CIRIA's BeST tool (UK)

A tool which monetizes Ecosystem Services (ESS) and Triple Bottom Line (TBL) criteria to assess LID options (described as Sustainable Drainage Systems, SuDS). The tool guides the user to consider some or all of the co-benefits listed below . Whilst the relative values may be useful for assessing options, the currency of this model is in GBP (£).

BeST

• Air Quality
• Amenity
• Biodiversity and Ecology
• Building temperature
• Carbon sequestration
• Crime
• Economic growth
• Education
• Enabling development
• Flexible infrastructure
• Flood risk
• Groundwater recharge
• Human health
• Pumping wastewater
• Rainwater harvesting
• Recreation
• Treating wastewater
• Tourism
• Traffic calming
• Water quality of receiving water

Proprietary

• Autocase

See also

• Trees for costing tools particularly focused on street trees and urban canopy.
• Rainwater harvesting for advice specific to RWH systems.
• Funding
• Managing Costs and Containing Risks using the One Water Approach

Low Impact Development. A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program

Natural vegetation and vegetative technologies in urban settings such as: urban forests; green roofs; green walls; green spaces; rain gardens; bioswales; community gardens; natural and engineered wetlands and stormwater management ponds; and porous pavement systems. These systems are designed to provide multiple benefits, such as moderate temperatures, clean air and water, and improve aesthetics.

A biological community, including humans and their natural environment.

The addition of water to ground water by natural or artificial processes.

The infiltration and movement of surface water into the soil, past the vegetation root zone, to the zone of saturation or water table.

Rainwater harvesting.

A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

State of the art methods or techniques used to manage the quantity and improve the quality of wet weather flow. BMPs include Source, Conveyance and End-Of-Pipe Controls.

Refers to the conditions in which an organism lives and survives or the conditions in which an organism resides. These conditions can be described as aspects of a “physical”, “social” or an “economic” environment, depending on the perspective perceived by the observer.